From an African bestiary to universal
science? Table 2. Eleven systems of knowledge containing animal symbolism by Wim van Binsbergen |
(0) species, object, concept |
(1) animal demons world-wide[1] |
(2) symbols of Egyptian nomes[2] |
(3) major Egyptian gods[3] |
(4) figurines in the Chokwe divining basket,
Angola, Zambia and Zaire |
(5) nomen-clature of Nkoya clans, western
central Zambia |
(6) nomenclature of Tswana clans, Botswana
and South Africa |
(7) Chinese zodiac |
(8) Chinese lunar mansions |
(9) the 36 Babylonian stars |
(10) modern international constellations |
(11) major Greek gods |
abstract concept |
|
|
|
lie; imminent misfortune; folly; folded heart
(lack of sociability) |
|
nleya (= ‘provided with’) |
|
space; emptiness; danger; straddling |
Death; Mistress of life; Lord of death |
|
|
ant-eater, aardvark, pangolin |
|
|
|
ant-bear, pangolin |
|
ant-bear |
|
tapir |
|
|
|
antelope, deer |
|
U16 (oryx) |
Seth, Anukis, Satis (gazelle) |
antelope (‘s horn); duiker (‘s hoof) |
|
duiker; impala; kudu; reedbuck; eland antelope;
hartebeest |
|
unicorn, deer |
deer |
Unicorn; Giraffe |
Dionysos, Artemis, Aphrodite, Athene, Apollo |
bear |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Great Bear; Little Bear |
Artemis (she-bear) |
birds, aquatic |
|
L15 (ibis) |
Thoth, Chonsu |
wild duck (‘s foot); white heron (‘s claw);
kingfisher |
|
|
|
|
|
Crane, Swan |
Hera (kingfisher); Aphrodite, Zeus (swan) |
birds, eagle |
eagle[4] |
|
|
eagle (‘s claw) |
|
|
|
|
eagle |
Eagle |
Zeus |
birds, falcon |
|
U2, U5, U18? |
Horus, Montu, Anti, Antywey / Antaios, Re
Horachti, Haroeris, Harmerti, Sokar, Chonsu |
(symbolic but not in basket) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
birds, hawk[6] |
hawk[7] |
|
|
|
hawk |
|
|
|
|
|
Apollo |
birds, sylvan & general; also bat |
|
|
|
laughing-bird(‘s beak); mason bird ( symbolic
but not in basket); owl ( symbolic but not in basket);
touraco bird; unspecified little bird |
|
owl (morubisi, thubisi); red-billed
quelea bird; weaver bird; any bird of small or
moderate size (nonyane) |
|
swallow; crow; bat; bird star |
raven; swallow; |
Crow; Dove; Toucan; Phoenix |
Apollo, Athene, Kronos, Athene (crow or raven);
Hera, Zeus (cuckoo); Aphrodite, Zeus (dove); Athene
(owl); Herakles, Leto (quail); Aphrodite (swallow); Ares,
Zeus (woodpecker) |
birds, terrestrial (fowl) |
|
U3 (double ostrich feathers) |
Amon (goose); Maat, Shu (ostrich feather) |
cock (paw); guinea fowl (symbolic but not in
basket); partridge |
guinea fowl |
bustard |
cock |
pheasant; cock |
|
Peacock |
Apollo, Athene, Hermes (cock); Apollo, Ares,
Hera, Hermes (goose); Hera (peacock) |
birds, vulture |
vulture[8] |
|
Nekhbet, Mut |
|
vulture |
|
|
|
|
|
Apollo, Ares, Kronos |
body parts, animal (mammal) |
|
L2 (foreleg of oxen)[9] |
|
buck’s rib (or other mammal’s); kneecap,
tibia, ear, of unspecified mammal |
|
marrow |
|
horn; tail; beak; wings |
bull’s jaw |
|
Athene glaukopis with owl’s eyes; Hera boopis
with cow’s eyes, |
body parts, human |
|
lungs (L17) |
Jusas (hand); Min, Amon (penis); Aton (hand at
end of ray); sons of Horus (various organs); Mut, Tefnut
(sun’s eye) |
penis; vagina; heart; folded heart (lack of
sociability); woman with distended belly; handicapped
person |
|
vulva; heart; penis |
|
neck; heart; stomach |
kidneys |
Berenice’s Hair |
Aphrodite Comaetho, Cybele (hair); Artemis
Orthia= upright, Dionysos lame, Zeus Velchanos= ‘who
drags his foot’ (body); Athene glaukopis, Aphrodite
peeping, Hera Europia broadly seeing, Hera boopis with
cow’s eyes, Herakles Bright-eyed, Hades sightless
(eyes); Herakles Nose-docker; Herakles of the Wounded
Thigh; Herakles the Dactyl (finger); Hermes (phallus) |
bovine |
U11, U10 (black bull); L6, L3 (two-headed bull);
L12 (cow with calf) |
Buchis, Mnevis, Apis, Chentechtai, Serapis
(bull); Hathor (cow) |
|
|
ginger ox; cattle; heifer (tshelwana); buffalo |
oxen |
oxen |
bull |
Bull |
Poseidon, Artemis Tauropole= ‘bull-killer’
(bull); Hera boopis, with cow’s eyes; Herakles
Bouphagos= ‘cow-eater’, Athene (oxen, cow) |
|
canine |
dog; wolf[11] |
U17, L11 |
Anubis, Chenti Amentiu, Chent cheti, Wepwewet,
Serapis |
hunter’s dog |
|
wild dog |
dog |
fox; wolf; dog |
wild dog; fox; great dog |
Fox; Great Dog; Hunting Dogs; Little Dog; Wolf |
Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Zeus (wolf);
Artemis (dog) |
chameleon |
|
|
|
chameleon |
|
|
|
|
|
Chameleon |
|
colour |
|
L10 (black); L1 (white) |
Uto =Wadjit (White crown); Nechbet, Satis (red
crown); Neith (blue crown); Osiris, Wadjit (green);
golden (Re and all gods) |
white bead |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aphrodite (dark, black); Apollo, Artemis, Zeus
of the White Poplar (white); Athene Chryse (golden);
Athene Colocasia = of the red water-lily (red); Zeus
(green) |
crocodile, dragon |
crocodile[12] |
U6, L14, L5, L4 |
Sobek, Chentechtai |
(symbolic but not in basket) |
|
crocodile (kwena, Maebu) |
dragon |
scaled dragon; smooth dragon |
|
Dragon |
Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Dionysos, Herakles,
Hermes, Kronos, Pan, Poseidon, Zeus (fight against)[13] |
directions (n, e, S, w) |
|
U13, U14, U20, U21, L19, L18 (Anterior/
Posterior); L14 (Eastern); L8, L7 (Eastern/ Western); L5,
L4 (Northern/ Southern); R13 (Western) |
Chenti Amentiu (West); Tefnut (South); Seth
(East); Neith, Uto (North); Nekhbet (South) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Southern Fish; Northern Crown, Southern Cross,
Southern Crown |
Apollo, Artemis (northern) |
drink |
|
|
Hathor, Isis (nursing the king) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hebe (ambrosia); Poseidon = ‘he who gives to
drink from the wooded mountain’ |
earth, sand, land |
|
Land (U1);Great land (U8); |
Re (earth mound in sun temple), Geb |
|
|
naga (veld / penis) |
|
basis |
field; mistress of the enemy-land |
|
Rhea (earth); Poseidon (earthquakes); Zeus
(mount of earth on top of Mt. Lukaios); Pan (pasture) |
elephant |
|
|
|
|
elephant |
elephant |
|
|
|
|
|
equine |
horse[14] |
|
Seth (ass) |
|
|
zebra |
horse |
horse |
|
Centaur; Foal; Pegasus |
Ares, Herakles Horse-binder, Athene, Poseidon
(horse) |
feline |
lion; cf. Sinhika; panther[15] |
Mehit, Tefnut, Pachet, Horus lord of Mesen, Shu
Anhuret, Ma-hesa, Sakhmet (lion); Bastet (cat) |
lion or leopard’s claw or tooth |
lion |
lion; leopard (nkwe);
predator (sebata) |
tiger |
tiger; leopard |
lion; panther |
Little Lion; Lion; Lynx |
Artemis, Hekate (cat); Dionysos (leopard);
Cybele, Herakles (lion) |
|
fish (also dolphin, whale) |
fish[17] |
Lepidotos (L16); unspecified fish (L15); Tilapia[18]
(L4, L5); oxyrynchos (U19) |
Neith (Tilapia fish); Hatmehit (‘first of the
fishes’); Shu (Lepidotos fish); Atum (eel) |
electrical fish’s vertebra |
barbel |
any kind of fish |
|
|
fish |
Dolphin; Fishes; Flying Fish; Sea-goat; Southern
Fish; Swordfish; Whale |
Aphrodite the Fish; Poseidon, Apollo (dolphin) |
frog |
|
|
Hekat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aphrodite |
gastropod |
|
belemnite (U9) |
Min (belemnite) |
cowry; snail’s shell; mother-of-pearl shell of
long snail |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aphrodite (Cypraea =cowry) |
hare |
|
U15 (hare, female hare) |
Unut |
hare’s tail or paw |
|
hare |
hare |
hare |
|
Hare |
|
hippopotamus |
hippopotamus[19] |
|
Taweret |
|
|
hippopotamus |
|
|
|
|
|
humans and gods |
|
prince (L19, 18); ‘ruler of Anzeti’ (L13);
Anzeti (L9) |
|
nuclear family (father, mother, child); Jinga
fertility archetype; spirit of mask dancer; male
ancestor; female ancestor; slave; child; human being;
couple; wailing-woman; handicapped person; sorcerer;
woman with distended belly; polluting spirits of the
wild; group of people on their way; spirit associated
with menstruation and conception; forest spirit; Suku
protective archetype; Cisola fertility archetype; sick
child; the double person (who treacherously incites
conflict); true witness; hunter’s spirit |
spear-hunter |
|
|
virgin; demons |
old man; Anunitu; faithful herdsman of Anu;
twins; Shulpa’e; great twins; Shu.pa; Ninmah;
EN.TE.NA.BAR.‡UM; king; mouth-opening demon; Numu?da;
Damu; Marduk; hired labourer; king of the sky-gods;
Enlil; ...of Sharur; Enlil; Ishtar mistress of the
enemy-land; herald; Great...; Ishtaran, Anu; [...] of
Enlil; [Sin (moon)] and Nergal; Mistress; Anu, Enlil, Ea,
all three (?); Lord of Death; Lord (?) Shamash [ sun ] ;
Queen of the Igigi-gods; Queen of the Igigi-gods; Enlil
(?); Goddess of heaven and earth; King, Lord of the
Igigi-gods; Mistress of Haruspicy; Lord of the Sources,
Ea; Dwelling of Anu; Hero among the Igigi-gods; the two
gods Adad and Marduk; Mistress of Life; The three gods
(?), Ea; Lord who kills; King of the Igigi-gods |
Andromeda; Archer; Cassiopeia; Cepheus;
Charioteer; Hercules; Herdsman; Indian; Orion; Painter;
Perseus; Sculptor; Serpent-bearer; Twins; Virgin;
Water-bearer |
Aphrodite the Stranger; Apollo the Hunter;
Persuasive Artemis; Artemis Saviour; Athene Mother;
Dionysos Saviour; Herakles= ‘glory of Hera’; Athene
Guardian; Herakles Saviour; Herakles Victor; Leto=
‘lady’; Ares= ‘male warrior’; Earth=
‘Mother’; Zeus Deliverer; Zeus Morios=
‘distributor’; Zeus Preserver; Zeus Reliever; Zeus
Saviour |
hyena |
|
|
|
|
hyena |
hyena |
|
|
|
|
|
insect, spider, centipede (, arthropods) |
|
L4?, L5? (bee); U18 (centipede) |
Chopri (beetle); Sepa (centipede) |
insect nest made out of wood; insect’s
external skeleton; piece of a termite-hill; praying
mantis (its egg depository) |
bee? |
locust |
|
|
|
Bee, Fly |
Apollo Parnopios (locust); Artemis, Demeter,
Rhea (bee); Herakles Cornopion (locust); Herakles
Ipoctonos (grub-killer); Zeus Averter of Flies; Athene
(spider) |
lizard |
|
|
|
lizard (riverine ) |
|
lizard |
|
|
|
Lizard |
|
luxuries (incl. precious stones) |
|
|
Hathor, Ihi (menat[20];
Uto (White crown); Nechbet, Satis (red crown); Neith
(blue crown) |
white bead |
regalia? |
tobacco; wealth; iron |
|
|
|
Northern Crown, Southern Cross, Southern Crown |
Dionysos Plutodotes; Athene Chryse, golden |
monkey, baboon |
|
|
Thoth |
baboon (front-paw) |
|
kgabo (ape); tshwene (baboon); = kgano
(meercat) |
monkey |
monkey; monkey |
|
|
|
mountain, wilderness |
|
U12 (snake mountain);L6 |
Re, Seth, Nephthys |
|
|
|
|
hill |
|
|
Aphrodite Urania = ‘queen of the mountains’;
Poseidon = ‘he who gives to drink from the wooded
mountain’; Zeus Acraios = ‘of the summit’ |
ovines[21] |
goat[22] |
|
Chnum, Amon, Harsaphes / Herishef (ram) |
|
goat |
goat; sheep |
sheep |
sheep; he-goat |
goat |
Ram |
Aphrodite Epitragia = - ‘turned into a
he-goat’; Goatish Athene, Artemis, Dionysos, Pan, Zeus
nursed by Amaltheia, Hera Goat-eating (goat); Hermes
Ram-bearer, Pan, Zeus Sabazios (ram) |
pig, wild boar |
boar[23] |
U11 (Seth animal) |
Seth |
wild pig’s tooth |
|
pig |
pig |
pig |
|
|
Zeus nursed by a sow |
porcupine |
|
|
|
porcupine |
|
porcupine |
|
porcupine |
|
|
|
river, spring, lake, sea |
|
|
Osiris, Hapi (Nile); Tefnut (moisture); Neith,
Wadjit, Seth (sea) |
|
|
|
|
source |
Lord of the sources, Ea; Goddess of the sources |
River; Water-bearer |
Poseidon (sea); Aphrodite (foam-born); Artemis
Lady of the Lake; Artemis = ‘? high source of water’;
Orpheus = ‘? ophruoeis’ of the river bank’ |
scorpion, crab |
scorpion[24] |
|
Selket = Selkis |
|
|
|
|
|
scorpion, crab |
Crab; Scorpion |
|
shrew, ichneumon, honey badger, mouse, rat |
|
|
Atum, Haroeris, Harmerti (ichneumon/ shrew) |
mouse (symbolic value but not in divining
basket); honey badger(‘s nail) |
|
|
rat |
marten; rat |
|
|
Apollo Smintheus (mice / rats); Hekate (weasel) |
sky and celestial bodies, including stars |
|
|
Hathor, Haroeris (sky); Chonsu, Osiris, Thoth
(moon); Horus (the moon and sun as his eyes); Nut
(moon’s mother); sons of Horus (stars); Nut (stars’
mother); Amon, Re, Hathor, Atum, Aton, Re-Harakhte,
Harmachis (sun); Nut (sun’s mother) |
moon |
rain |
|
|
Pleiades; Orion; Bird Star |
Venus; stars; Mars; great star; brilliant star
of stars; [Sin (moon)] and Nergal; Lord (?) Shamash [ sun
] ; weapon, star of...; Goddess of heaven and earth; the
planet Mars |
|
Apollo, Eos (dawn); Solar Apollo, Helios, Solar
Zeus (sun); Artemis Alpheia, Selene (moon); Artemis
Anacitis = ‘of the planet Venus’; Zeus (bright sky);
Celestial Herakles; Athena, Zeus (thunderbolt) |
snake |
snake; cf. Nagas, Indian snake-demons[25] |
U10 (snake); U12 (mountain snake) |
Uto, Apophis, Meretseger, Naunet, Thermouthis/
Renenutet, |
snake spirit; snake’s head |
|
snake |
snake |
snake; worm |
snake |
Little Snake, Serpent, Water-snake |
Herakles Ophioktonos, serpent-killing; [ Zeus]
Sabazios (snake) |
stone (non-precious), rock |
|
|
Atum (benben stone) |
pebbles |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Apollo of the White Rock; Hermes = ‘cairn or
pillar’; Leto = ‘stone’ |
technology, including smoke |
|
bow (U1); balance post (U2); sceptre (U4, U19);
sistrum (U7); relic shrine (U8); flint knife (U22);
harpoon (L8, L7); shield (L5, L4); house (L20) |
Satet (bow and arrows); Anat (shield,
battle-axe); Anzeti (switch, flail); Chnum (potter’s
wheel); Isis (throne); Meshenet (birth tile); Neith
(shield, [ bow ] and arrows); Reshef (battle-axe, lance,
shield); Aker, Sechet (field); Serapis (corn measure);
Unut (knives) |
boat; drum; mortar; head-rest; night-gun[26];
hoe; bellows; bracelet; path; wooden arrow point; iron
arrow point; knife of power;[27]
bier; baby carrying sling; basket; woman’s utensils;
houses with breached walls to take deceased outside;
lock; tally; grave; any object due to European presence
in the region; piece of glass or mica; coin; piece of
European china (crockery); European bell; bullet |
beehive; bell; fish spear?; tinder-box?;
bull-roarer?; sparkler?;[28]
reed-mat?; peg?; fire-bore?; smoke |
clay-pit; trench; milling vessel |
|
winnowing basket; spoon; house; wall; net; bow;
coach |
plough; arrow; bow; cart; balance; arrow;
weapon, star of...; Mistress of Haruspicy; Dwelling of
Anu |
Air pump; Altar; Arrow; Balance; Clock;
Compasses; Cup; Furnace; Keel; Lyre; Mariner’s Compass;
Microscope; Net; Octant; Poop; Rule; Sails; Sculptor’s
Tools ; Sextant; Shield; Southern Triangle; Table;
Telescope; Triangle |
Hephaestus (general); Aphrodite Epitymbria =
‘of the tombs’; Federal Aphrodite; Aphrodite Schoenis
= ‘of the rush-basket’; Apollo of the Embarcations;
Athene Girder-on-of-Arms, Warlike Athene, Warlike Zeus
(arms); Artemis Cordax = ‘of the rope dance’; Artemis
Dictynna = ‘of the net’; Artemis Eileithyia
(midwife); Artemis the hanged one; Artemis the Huntress;
Artemis Tridaria = ‘threefold assigner of lots’;
Artemis Trivia = ‘of the three ways’; Athene Alea =
‘she who grinds’; Athene Polias, Herakles Melkarth
(protector of the city); Athene Skiras (parasol); Cybele,
Zeus Labradian (axe); Apollo, Artemis (bow, arrow,
quiver); Athena (breastplate); Herakles (club); Zeus (god
of the assembly); Zeus, Hestia (hearth); Herakles Ogmios,
of the Ogams (a script); Herakles the Healer; Hermes
(herald’s staff); Apollo, Hermes, Orpheus (lyre);
Apollo (omphalos); Pan (shepherd’s pipe; Hermes
(shepherd’s staff); Ares (spear); Three Fates, Athene
(spinning, weaving); Poseidon (trident); Apollo (tripod);
Hermes (winged hat); Zeus of the Courtyard |
tortoise |
|
|
|
tortoise |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes, Pan |
trees and plants[29] |
|
U13, U14 Atf, sycamore?); U20, 21 (ntf,
granade?); L20 |
Hathor (sycamore); Uto (papyrus plant); Nefertem
(lotus); Osiris, Nepri (corn) |
fruits and grains of red maize; Brachystegia
tree; raffia palm; gourd (the fruit); a climbing plant;
madder; Cannarium tree; Schrebera tree; Elaeis guineensis
palm; Parinari tree; Swarzia madagascariensis plant;
Abrus precatorius / canescens plant; Vangueriopsis
lanciflora; little bundle of sticks[30];
fragment of mushroom with natural perforations; white
mushroom |
firewood; wood suitable for carving; kindling
(out of mushroom) |
pumpkin |
|
willow |
|
|
Aphrodite Erycina = ‘of the heather’;
Aphrodite Schoenis, of the rush-basket; Apollo, Herakles
Melon (apple); Artemis Caryatis = ‘of the walnut’;
Artemis Hyacinthropos (hyacinth); Athene Colocasia, of
the red water-lily; Athene Itone, Hera Hellotis, Artemis
Lygodesma (willow); Demeter = ‘barley-mother’; Helios
(heliotrope); Apollo, Artemis (laurel); Aphrodite
(myrtle); Zeus (oak); Athene (olive tree); Apollo (palm
tree); Persephone, Hera (pomegranate); Zeus of the White
Poplar |
[1] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.
[2] The data as tabulated were largely derived from:
Roeder, G., 1952, Volksglaube im Pharaonenreich,
Stuttgart: Spemann. U = Upper, L = Lower Egyptian nome. No
ancient animal association recorded, to my knowledge, for L17.
[3] Ancient Egyptian animal symbolism was recently surveyed
in: Houlihan, P.F., 1996, The animal world of the pharaohs,
London: Thames & Hudson. He bases himself especially on the
extensive studies in this field which have made up the life’s
work of Leo Keimer, of which he gives a full bibliography. These
publications can inspire further studies on the topic explored in
the present paper; however, here again I have had to limit the
number of authoritative sources to those specified.
[4] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: themes A2842,
D152.2 (index A, 11).
[5] Falcon associations do not occur in the context of the
major Greek gods. However, the name of Circe, the island
sorceress in the Odyssea, means ‘falcon’.
[6] Gardiner, Grammar, o.c., p. 467f), brings out
that hawk (Gardiner sign G1, phonetic value tyw) and
Egyptian vulture (Gardiner sign G4, phonetic value 3, ? a,
al, ar) are often indistinguishable, contrary to the
falcon (Gardiner
sign G5, ?Hr, i.e. Horus) which is so conspicuous in
Egyptian religion.
[7] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme D152.1
(index A, II).
[8] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme D152.3
(index A, II).
[9] Foreleg of oxen, khpsh or dww, , Gardiner
sign F23; also in use to designate the constellation of Ursa
Major, Mskhtyw, whose apparent shape (which despite all
stars’ proper motion, being minute, has not noticeably changed
since pharaonic times) corresponds with the hieroglyph and with
the oxen foreleg it depicts:
[10] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: bull (theme
D133.2; (index A, 11).
[11] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: dog (theme 118,
G211.1.8); wolf (theme D113.1, 113.1.1; index A, 11).
[12] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.:
183-185,187,190, 208.
[13] None of these were dragons, but all fought dragons.
[14] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme F471.1
(index A, 11).
[15] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: lion (theme
B8712.5, D112.1; index A, 11; 207; cf. Sinhika is the Indian
lion-demoness); panther (theme D112.4; index A, II).
[16] It is remarkable that none of the ancient Egyptian
nomes has a feline-associated ensign; however, many nomes do have
major gods (see Table 2 column (2)) with such associations.
[17] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme G308
(index A, 11).
[18] Sacred to the goddess Neith.
[19] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme B8712.4
(index A, 11). The hippopotamus does not appear in the
astronomical material of our data set outside Egypt. The fabulous
animal, often winged, that features prominently in some very late
Egyptian zodiacs and whose head and bodily stance are reminiscent
of familiar representations of Taweris the pregnant female
hippopotamus, on closer examination turns out to be a crocodile;
e.g. the Dendera pronaos which dates from Nero’s time,
middle first century CE (Description, 1997, Description de
l’Egypte: Publiee par les ordres de Napoleon Bonaparte, edition
complete, Koln etc.: Taschen, pp. 402-403); the zodiac of the
great temple of ‡num at Esna, which dates from a few decades
later (cf. Description, o.c., pp. 131-132; and the
zodiac of the northern temple at Esna, dating from the late third
century BCE (Description, o.c., pp. 141-142).
Neither does the hippopotamus appear as part of the much older
zodiac depicted in the tomb of Seti I (c. 1300 BCE), which does
feature falcon/ Horus, lion, bull, Re, crocodile (the smaller
second crocodile is an hieroglyphic sign, Gardiner no. I5), and a
claw or hoof, and water, as further hieroglyphic signs, notably
Aa7 and N35).
Diagram 10. The zodiac as depicted in the tomb of Seti I (c. 1300 BCE)
(Picture
source: Grolier, Encyclopedia, o.c.: Egypt, ancient
/ picture ‘tomb painting depicting the constellations’).
[20] Ornamental collar.
[21] Both in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa, and in ancient
Egypt, sheep and goat cannot be clearly distinguished, neither
anatomically nor genetically.
[22] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme B24, D134
(index A 11).
[23] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme B871.1.2
(index A, 11).
[24] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme B8732
(index A’, 11).
[25] Fontenrose, Python, o.c.: theme 203f.,
208, 491, 498, Theme 3a (index A 1); A6712.1, A876, B11to
B11.12.1 B29.2, D950.0.1, F541.1.4 (index A, 11); cf. Nagas,
Indian snake-demons.
[26] A sorcery apparatus in South Central and Southern
Africa: a gun made of a human thighbone, to be fired at night at
one’s enemy’s dwelling, in order to cause fatal illness.
[27] The ancient Egyptian knive: ds ,
Gardiner sign T30, initially made of flint, has virtually the
same shape as the Cokwe figurine. I take this to suggest that a
common origin underlies the use of this symbol in both cultures,
and that this origin is pre-metallurgy Neolithic or earlier.
[28] A little metal thong within a tinder-box, which when
scraped against a piece of flint produces the spark that sets
linted mushroom kindling afire.
[29] Here we omit one row which was only specified for Greek
mythology: category = ‘unspecified’; listed under this
category: ‘Artemis Lady of the Wild Things’.
[30] Although isolated in our peculiarly selective data set,
the item has remarkably close parallels in other bundles of twigs
in cultures North of Africa: the ancient Persion baresman,
the most sacred item in Zoroastrian ritual, and in the ancient
Italic fasces; cf. Mills, L.H., & Gray, L.H.,
1908-1921, ‘baresman (Av. baresom)’, in: Hastings, J., with
Selbie, J.A., & Gray, L.H., eds., Encyclopaedia of
religions and ethics, 13 vols., Edinburgh/ New York: Clark/
Scribner, II: 424-425; Schrot, G., 1979, ‘Lictores’, in:
Ziegler, K., & Sontheimer, W., eds., Der kleine Pauly:
Lexikon der Antike. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag,
cols. III: 645-646.
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